Old So What

  For starters, the house itself was unusual. It was haunted. No really.   It was. I don’t normally believe in phenomena like this but I experienced it myself. I know what I know. The reconverted barn had reconverted ghosts. You became the victim of its wrath if you fell asleep in its room. Usually it struck (if that’s the right term for it) at 1 in the morning.   Then sharpened bony fingers would grip your shoulder and hold on tight until you woke up in a fright.   (I always thought of it as a he, but it could very well have been a she .   I mean why not?) This “thing” whatever, was not friendly.   Its physical language was aggressive, clearly saying, “get out, you’re in my territory!” Besides me, it appeared to both my brothers, and a friend of ours who knew nothing about what happened in that room, but slept there as a guest one unfortunate night for him. Because it was now a house and no longer a barn, it took on the hybrid effects o...

On a February day in 2024, in Athens, Georgia, Laken Reilly was brutally struck down for no reason by a monster.  Laken was a nursing student. We will never know now how many patients she would have helped had she been allowed simply to live her life. She has left us too soon at 22 years of age. She has left us with just a glimpse of her promising future. She has left us with her middle name:  Hope. Laken Hope Reilly.

  In case I didn’t mention it in Part 1, and I didn’t, the film, “Bridge of spies” was based on the Berlin Wall, (built by Communist East Germany in 1961), and how various world powers swapped two famous prisoners trapped on either side of it.   Rudolf Abel was the convicted Russian spy and Francis Gary Powers was the convicted spy from the US. The hero in real life who should be mentioned in capital letters, was the American attorney, James Donovan, who actually achieved this difficult feat…in real life!

  You will enjoy this 2015 film I’m very sure. It has everything:   good script, good director (Steven Spielberg) good producers, (one of whom is Steven Spielberg)   good actors. Based on a good story. A true story.   It grabs your attention and holds on in no small measure to the acting ability of its star, Tom Hanks.   He should be called:   Mr. Believable. You find yourself so caught up, so captured by the story and actors that you end up rooting for everyone, even a communist villain. Warning:   This is a feel-good film!

  Those sneaky little things that are supposed to help you, but are really there for pure sabotage. You think you’re putting your glass on something protective, when at the very last moment the coaster segues to the right or left, and there you are with another spilled mess on your hands!

  You can see just what it’s like to live in another land; practice another religion; eat different food without having to literally do it. Treat yourself to an adventure (or have you already been there, done that?)

  You know that you’re old when… o   you start having difficulty cutting toast. o   people who are older than you…are now dead. o   you keep misplacing your cane.

  When I run the water in the shower for too long, the cat comes looking for me. (She’s afraid of water.)   When I’m late with her meal, the cat comes looking for me. (Just a friendly reminder as she passes by.)   When someone knocks too loudly on the front door, the cat comes looking for me. (Irritated at the intrusive noise.)   When she hasn’t seen me for a while, the cat comes looking for me… just to see that all is well.

  We used to learn this stuff in school. So here goes… George Washington was the first president of the United States of America. The most important fact about him to me has always been that at the beginning, the founding of this country, he was offered the title and role of “king,” but declined.   He didn’t view this title as appropriate for the American soul, mind or spirit. Bravo to him. The world had had enough kings and queens.   This was a new chapter and it deserved a new beginning, a new title. President Washington was a hero! Period! He served as President from 1789 to 1797. He is known as the Father of Our Country.   Born on February 22, 1732 in Virginia (One of the original 13 Colonies.), President Washington commanded the Continental Army, which fought for independence from England during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Because he was so trusted, he was asked to preside over the  Constitutional Convention,   which was responsible...

  For all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these, ‘It might have been.’                     John Greenleaf Whittier

  Is that you can never have enough chocolate! As soon as you start to eat it, it’s gone, so always buy a little extra.

  Zsa Zsa Gabor If you don’t know who she was then why are you reading this blog? Ms. Gabor was an actress and celebrity, known for her many marriages, approximately nine (though I don’t think she counted one as an actual marriage), and her many humorous, inciteful quips. (I used to see her in New York City when I lived there as a child/adolescent.   My family and I seemed to run into her often right outside the entrance to Saks Fifth Avenue. Not that we knew her, we did not, but after every encounter my mother would embarrass us, her children, by doing her imitation of Zsa Zsa ad nauseum.) Zsa Zsa was an actress, mostly known for her style, beauty, sense of self-deprecating humor, inside stories about fellow celebrities, wealth and most of all her vulnerability. That last characteristic was what people liked most about her. We felt as if we knew her, personally.

  Have you ever thought after you pray and you don’t get an answer right away, that all the angels and saints may be busy at the moment. They can’t answer, just be patient and wait. Just a thought I had while waiting for an answer to a prayer.

  You will survive Menopause, honest, even though it may not seem like it right now. You should take something to help you with the symptoms, which can be:        Hot flashes,        Excessive perspiring (including Night-Sweats),        Excessive bleeding. I took an over-the-counter product for hot flashes, but I don’t know if this item even exists today. However, do a little research and try one of the products available now. I did not take any hormone replacement. I can tell you what I did and you can ask your doctor for advice, but remember these are YOUR decisions to make. I am not a medical person; I make no specific suggestions, except to say that getting something (or someone) to help is probably a good idea. In my menopause memories, I can recall many evenings coming home after work, and the tail end of the trip was on a trolley. I was fatigued, which worsens symptoms...

  Instant coffee can be delicious. The secret is to let it brew (develop). Use boiling water (some in the cup to warm it up), then pour a cupful on the coffee. Let it steep, let it brew for a few minutes. I use Nescafé Clasico. But I have no horse in this race: you can use whatever you like best. Don’t ever put milk or cream in coffee before letting it brew first. If you do the coffee will be rendered pretty much tasteless.

  When it comes to disgusting TV commercials, BUT the all-body deodorant ads have supplanted everything else!   Yikes! Actors with screen size shots of their armpits, and spraying their nether regions by putting the product down their pants. Help, I’ve died and gone to the hell of bad taste! I don’t want to see your armpits, or bask in the splendor  of whatever you have that should be covered up. Spare me, please. Spray on your own time, in your own space.   I don’t need a demonstration.   I get the idea.   Keep your graphics to yourself! And I’m not so sure that all that spraying and rolling-on of deodorant product is so good for you. Try washing, and a discreet limiting of deodorant to the parts of your body that you know for sure from actual experience tend to smell without help from a deodorizing product. Think for yourself.

  Are here and aren’t they lovely and hopeful? They come to us while it’s still chilly almost as if they’re saying, “We can’t wait, we want life now!” If spring is hopeful, then surely cherry blossoms are their cheerleaders.   We love these exquisite visions of happiness.

  If thou of fortune be bereft And in thy store there be but left Two loaves—sell one, and with the dole Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul. This version of a famous poem appeared in The Century magazine in August 1907 by James Terry White, under the title “Not By Bread Alone” (My mother [Virginia’s] favorite, oft-quoted poem)

  Maybe you haven’t heard of it because it hasn’t been advertised…a lot. Because of the cost.   It’s just too costly.   It’s a good book. Short and to the point. It’s a book with humor and just a touch of occasional pathos. Or you could call it life with all its slices. I still think it’s funny and it still makes me l augh and I wrote it! You can get it (the book, that is) in various forms from Amazon. (One of my favorite places to shop!) My book was edited by my talented cousin. It’s a quick read, actually is called, “A Quick Read.   Short-short Stories” Perfect as a gift. Perfect to read at the doctor’s office or anytime you’re stuck waiting. It contains no questionable language. And I think the on-line version is really inexpensive. So go for it…I would appreciate it very much! Readers of this blog should stick together.

  Be happy today because Blue is your color!                                  The FlabberGasp

  To leave jars of things, such as mayonnaise, too near the edge of counters. Why I started to do this I haven’t a clue.   Just another one of life’s mysteries. But that’s how the oily stuff got all over the carpet, never to be removed completely, anyway, by me. So, keep track in the kitchen or wherever.   Items on the edge almost always find their way to the floor. They like it better there.

An internationally, well-respected actor is now appearing in a film on a YouTube channel. I won’t say his name… I won’t name the other stars or cast… Because I want to shield him. Why? Because he was a rare talent, a one-of-a-kind, and one of everyone’s favorites.   Now deceased, when he was young, he was truly beautiful…OK, then, handsome complete with a charming accent.  (Maybe most accents seem charming to us, Americans, I admit.) Now, as an older actor, he was still charming, but clearly should no longer be playing romantic leads. When a close-up view of the back of his head appeared on the screen, wearing a large bald spot, really large, toupee-style large, then I became angry. The following scenes had the toupee in place, that’s how we know for certain that this lapse was a giant mistake. It’s clear that no one on-staff at the film or in his employment had looked out for his interests, for his dignity, which I am certain included concealing missing hair. There is us...

 It's easy to help friends and love ones with what they need, whether it's doctor's appointments or home chores. But when it comes to our own life, we put things off and procrastinate.  How often have you said, "I'll do it next week," only for months to go by and the issue is left unresolved? The more we help and care for others, the more we tend to neglect ourselves. My advice: would you allow your loved one to put off a doctor's appointment or live with any issue longer than they needed to? NO! So do yourself a favor, and train yourself to make time to focus on improving your own life. Even if you need to think that you are doing it because the other person wants you to, you will be better off in the end. 

  Where are the directions? If a hair straightening appliance comes with a set of directions, the pamphlet small without much detail though it is, why not life?   Why doesn’t your life come with a set of directions, guidelines, something to go by, to hold onto when things are questionable and a little scary? If my grandmother were here right now, I would have so many questions for her, but I, myself, being just ten years away from the age that she died, she might expect that by now I would have all, or most, of the answers, which I don’t. I even forget the questions. I do know for sure that we are breakable.   We are eggs traveling around without our protective egg cartons, lurching through life, haphazardly skating along. We expect the best to happen to us, but at some point, in our lives we realize that the worst is usually hovering close by, always keeping us in its sight. And, so keeping that in mind we go through people in our life, carelessly tossing the...

  To not go near your front door, side or rear door for that matter. I do this by making a buzzer noise when she gets too close to any exit. I try to make the sound nasty enough to dissuade her, but not so bad as to scare her to death. It works, but you must be consistent in doing this.

  Here’s where I suggest that you ask your doctor first. And remind you that I am not a medical person or physical therapist, just passing along what works for me. Then with his/her OK, Pass GO and proceed to YouTube to research some exercises for Balance . Keep looking until you find some that you like enough to do on-and-off all day, every day.   Try them out. Hold on to the kitchen counter while you practice. I don’t like them either BUT they’re much better than falling down all the time, which gets old quick. Apparently, you have to retrain your body to know its place in space.   Not outer space but this space, your space (according to a physical therapist with a channel on YouTube.) What do you think? Is it worth a try? Write back and let me know.   Oh, and remember to lift up your feet.

  And overfeed my cats. I don’t wish to be around Anything that is hungry.

  If you read my book, A Quick Read: Short-Short Stories , then you have at least an idea. These dramas are addictive!  Really, maybe I should get a life, but I look forward to the story line, the actors, the sets, the costumes, the smallest details which have all been included just for me! And everything is more than well done, it’s almost, yes, almost, perfect.   All of which show: care, expense-not-spared, sensitivity to the viewers, extraordinary imagination, above- and-beyond writing, acting and directing. It's nice to think that there are still creative, bodies of pure talent in this world, at least in Korea. These dramas end with a “Thank you” to “our” audience. I rest my case. P.S. The one flaw and the only reason for the almost perfect score instead of perfect, is that in order to grant the viewers’ wish for a happy ending, sometimes the endings don’t really make sense, as when the heroine swallows poison, gushes up blood, but ends up just fine! How...

but when you make yourself laugh, is when you know for sure you’re funny. 

  In the 1950s and early 1960s (in that time zone), CBS Television centered in New York City, had an extensive library of black-and-white films.  Probably the best library in the world.  I know because I’m sure that I viewed most of those movies myself. Then in the 60s, I think, the library was divided up, with parts of it sold off to other markets (meaning other television regions where the population can receive the same television/radio station offerings).   Something that I always found unfortunate because it dispersed a treasure trove of some of the greats in black-and-white.   These films played a role in the morals of my time, at least for me. Because between the opening and closing credits, we got to view film as a microcosm of civilized behavior as it should be.  In other words: good triumphed and was rewarded, and evil got its well-deserved punishment. That’s it, that was the consistent, enduring lesson. It was born in the studios of Hollywood...